Michigan to pay Appalachian State a $1 million guarantee

8/27/2014

ANN ARBOR - Michigan will pay Appalachian State a $1 million guarantee for Saturday's season-opening football game at Michigan Stadium.

In a contract dated Aug. 25, 2011, and obtained by The Blade through a Freedom of Information Act request, Michigan will pay Appalachian State the $1 million guarantee by Feb. 1, 2015.

The guarantee amount was originally $850,000 but rose to $1 million after Appalachian State announced in March of 2013 that it would become an FBS program. It joins the Sun Belt Conference this season after 31 years as an FCS program and will be bowl-eligible in 2015.

Michigan opens the season at noon Saturday in a rematch of the Mountaineers' 2007 upset of the Wolverines.